Episode I-IV Blunder
Episode I-IV Blunder is the fourth episode of the Anime adaptation. Synopsis In the wake of Eva and Hideyoshi's deaths, the remaining survivors seek refuge in Kinzo's study. Another letter from Beatrice is found, and the servants and Maria are forced to go to the parlor on account of suspicion. All seems well until those in the study receive a strange phone call. Plot Summary First Half George falls into despair at the sight of Eva and Hideyoshi's corpses, having lost his fiancee and now his parents. Natsuhi finds another letter from Beatrice, placed underneath the door. As they lock Eva's door to preserve the crime scene for when the police arrive, the group notices an odd smell filling the mansion. Kanon goes to investigate the boiler room along with Kumasawa. The cousins theorize about Eva and Hideyoshi's deaths when Maria chimes in, mocking Battler's insistence that the culprit can't be any of the family members or servants. After a knock on the head from Battler, Maria explains that the symbol drawn on Eva's door is another magic circle, one that can unlock any lock. Jessica and George talk about Maria's strange behavior and how she's so upbeat despite her mother being killed. They believe that Maria knows who Beatrice really is and is hiding the fact. Kanon and Kumasawa arrive at the boiler room, discovering that the weird smell is indeed coming from there. Kanon goes in by himself, sure that Beatrice is inside. He grabs a cleaver from the wall and announces his defiance of Beatrice as golden butterflies swarm the room. Nobody responds, and Kanon gets stabbed with a stake as he hears clanging noises. Natsuhi and the rest of the group enter the boiler room, where Kanon has pulled the stake out and is bleeding to death. Battler sees an open door leading outside and runs through, hoping to catch the culprit. He shines his flashlight through the darkness only to find nothing. Genji shows off the bloodied stake to the family as Nanjo works on saving Kanon; this was the same kind of stake used to kill Eva and Hideyoshi. They've also determined that the smell was coming from Kinzo, whose charred corpse was inside the incinerator. Battler is skeptical at the corpse being Kinzo's until Natsuhi points out his extra toes, a result of Kinzo's polydactyly. Genji also notices that Kinzo is missing the Head's Ring on his finger. As Nanjo and Jessica work on Kanon, the rest of the group sits in the parlor. George believes there really is a 19th person as Battler suggests that maybe one of the first six victims faked their death; the corpses' faces were destroyed, so any of them could've been fakes. Nanjo and Jessica return to the parlor. where she breaks down crying as the old doctor reports that Kanon is dead. George wonders how the culprit could move around the mansion freely, with Genji suggesting that maybe they stole Gohda or Shannon's master keys. The group decides to retreat to Kinzo's study, which should be the safest room in the house. Maria notes that even Beatrice can't get into the study, pointing at the scorpion magic circles on the doorknobs, the same ones as on her charms. The clock strikes 21:59. Second Half At 22:00, the survivors enter Kinzo's study and Genji closes the door, which automatically locks. He explains that there are only two master keys that can open the study, and Kinzo and Genji have them; Kinzo's key was on his corpse, which the servant retrieved. Jessica expresses fear that the culprit somehow dragged Kinzo out of his room despite the autolock, and Battler reminds her of the protective charm on the doorknobs. Natsuhi pulls out the scorpion charm that she hung on her own door, and Maria explains that Beatrice couldn't touch her because of it; Natsuhi realizes that that was why the strange marks appeared. She then reads out the letter they found in Eva's room, but it only has one sentence: "praise my name". They take it as a message from Beatrice, with them asking Genji who she really was. Genji explains that Beatrice has been dead for a long time. Kinzo was unhappy after having a forced marriage, and then fell in love with Beatrice. After her death, Kinzo turned to black magic to find a way to revive her. George sympathizes with him, saying he would do the same to revive Shannon. Battler asks Genji if Kinzo ever had any kids with Beatrice, to which he denies the thought. Jessica starts talking about a rumor that Kinzo donated to an orphanage and took kids from there to use as sacrifices for black magic experiments, when Natsuhi asks her to stop. Battler then realizes that the murders were following the epitaph; the six people in the tool shed were "the six chosen by the key", Eva and Hideyoshi were "the two who were close", and Kinzo and Kanon had their heads and chests gouged, respectively. Jessica notes the next few lines requiring three more people to die, while George mentions the last line, where "none shall be left alive". Maria laughs at this development, saying that the witch will revive everyone at the end. Natsuhi suggests that someone else is following the epitaph since Kinzo is dead, when Maria points to a letter: another one has suddenly appeared on the table behind them. Natsuhi aims her gun and asks Genji, Nanjo and Kumasawa to stand against the wall as Battler reads the letter; it's another message from Beatrice, mocking them and telling them to abandon all hopes of leaving the island alive. Since Genji, Nanjo, Kumasawa, or Maria are the only possible suspects for planting the letter, Natsuhi forces them to leave the study; they comply, and Genji leaves his keys with her. As Maria begins to leave, Battler hands her his scorpion charm; he lied about losing it earlier so he could contradict her. Jessica wonders if they made the right choice in forcing them out; if none of them were culprits, then they could very well be in danger. Battler looks through the letter again and sees it came with yet another strange symbol drawn on a piece of paper. After doing some research in Kinzo's books, they determine that it's a magic circle meant to cause discord and divide people; the group realizes that they played right into Beatrice's hands. Suddenly, the phone rings with Maria singing on the other end. Natsuhi's group rushes downstairs to find Genji, Nanjo, and Kumasawa murdered, their faces destroyed and stakes in their corpses, and Maria standing in the corner still singing. Teaser George narrates the preview, saying how everyone is talking about him. They call him Tomitake 2 and that he's "one damn good looking man." George blows off these compliments and tells them to remember that they will never again call him an idiot who can't protect his loved ones; he swears to get revenge for Shannon. He tells Beatrice to check out his karate moves and makes a bunch of noises. George says the next episode title and then cries out in pain after hitting his pinky on a drawer edge. Soundtrack Trivia * In Chess, a Blunder is a very bad move. Category:Anime Category:Anime Episode